Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 June 2004
A one-dimensional model for a laser-ablated slab under acceleration g is developed. A characteristic value gc is found to separate two solutions: Lower g values allow sonic or subsonic flow at the critical surface; for higher g the sonic point approaches closer and closer to the slab surface. A significant reduction in the ablation pressure is found in comparison to the g = 0 case. A simple dependence law between the ablation pressure and the slab acceleration, from the initial value g0 to infinity, is identified. Results compared well with fully hydrodynamic computer simulations with Multi2D code. The model has also been found a key step to produce indefinitely steady numerical solutions to study Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities in heat ablation fronts, and validate other theoretical analysis of the problem.